Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-13

posure of cutting. whereas any classic de
| signs. cousis,ing of columns. pilasters, en-
| tablatures and holdings must oe cut 10
exact form at great expense. ror sn,s ,a Iea-
| son the stone work In Nos. 3 ana ~ Is est est
| mated higher per foot than in NO. 10. Inc
estimates ON The various plans have been,
| az far as practicable, made on me same
basis. As no specifications whatever ac'
company Nos II aud is. your expert has
used his iudgmept as % the proper hlssdicy ioy
such buildipg. While the final
snecificstions and working drawings
might be made to vary them largely, as Will
be seen by the bill OF quantities and esli'
mate OF list, No. can be built the cheap
est Of the three, No. IL next, and both
within the limit fixed No. l6, while hav-
| ing many fine points and more complete
specifications, would. as shown by the
| estimates, overrun the limit price. The
average price OF those, per cubic foot OF
enclosed space. IL applied to No. |, would
cause il to reach $4,000, No. eco. and
No ID about the same. 1t has been and Is q
great evil and injustice to honest arcbi.
| tects in competition. that expensive and
| extravagant projects are. accomplished in
| The misrepresentation OF their authors as
| to cost. Examples are not wanting in the
State, OF public buildings costing three or
| four times the limit advertised. while these
| examples of buildings finished within the
| original appropriations are rare.
believing your Honorable Bosrd desires
| to avoid such injustice, both TO the hon q
| competitor and to your county. the writer
| has heartily entered into the work of es'
| timating the quantity and cost of the var
ious plans described, and he feels conf-
dent in saying that with the preyaiilng
prices of material and labor. either Oh them
| may be built in good, substantial manner,
with the price estimated
Is may appear TO your Honorable Board
| that the cost OF buildings OF similar char
acter and treatment will be nearly in direct
proportion to the ground covered and
| space enclosed, and when detailed esti
mates of the cost of three OF the plainest
and most regular designs show thstthe cost
Der square foot OF ground covered is nearly
$3.50. or nearly its cost per cubic foot of
enclosed space, it is very evident that the
| cost of the more elaborate and Irregular
plans, with great quantities of interior
stonework, must be even greater
The writer's experience has enabled him
| 10 know that it requires the exercise OF
economy, care and skill to put up public
building, exposed TO view on all sides. in
an approximately fireproof manner, for Is
cents per cubic foot, while his own taste
leads him TO select one OF the grand Ro-
| manesque designs, such rs Nos. Is. or "a,
| For the reasons given above. the best work
| OF the most capable architects who have
| submitted plans must be rejected.
Your Board will understand that the en-.
closed estimates do not INCLUDE the cost of
l tne SURROUNDING ltTTdCeb, buiAueduS VI
fences, nor even are the interior furnish
| ings included. Allow me to urge the i'm
| portance of having q sub.basement under
| the main corridors, If not under the entire
building. The great number of pipes re-
/ quired for water supply and waste, gas,
| heating, cold air ducts, machinery. etc., re-
| quire free space, accessible at all times.
| These plans are only preliminary. Many
working plans must be made. specifications
prepared. and some constructive points
can be submitted to the contractors for
close estimates.
| THE BUILDING.
The building will be constructed eu-
tirely of brick, with press brick facings
and terra Gotta ornamentatiOns with the
basement story Of stone. 1t will have
three fronts, VIZ: On Fort, Temple and
New High streets, with the rear toward
the County Jail. and will be two stories
| with an attic and basement. When
erected it will present from all points
of view dignified and bold architectural
outline, ana the design has been made
so that it will not be initiative to great
extent Of any OF the stersotyped styles
so long in use and SO frequently seen III
all parts of the country. Tor public use.
In style it will be what might be called
a modernized gothic designed after the
latest ideas for architectural structures
in America, and will not at all resemble
the continental European buildings or
style in more than a very small degree.
In its longest proportions fronting on
New High street it will GOV er 24S feet,
and at it's widest part will be $50 feet.
The most prominent feature of the struc
tnre is the massive tower which
will rise l75 feet from the ground and
will be the highest tower OF masonry il
the State. This tower apparently rises
from the center of the New High street
elevation, and its construction will fol
low the outlines of the lower portion
aud will be finished with the same ma
,erial, faced with pressed brick with
terra Gotta ornamentations. 1t termin'
ates in the circular stone buttresses Of
the central nave and will be elaborated
with friezes, gargeyies and allegorical
statuary at each OF its four angles. The
architects endeavored, with success, to
amGliorate the tendency to extreme mas.
siveness by the introduction of arches
aud balconies on each of the four sides,
about one hundred feet above the
ground This massive tower will be OBJ.
served from all points of the city, and il
has been designed for practical purposes
as well as beauty, for 1T will contain the
water tanks to hold enough water to be
used for all the purposes necessary in such
a large building. Looking from the
NEW HIGH STREET VIEW,
Although the main tower is spesial
characteristic of the Fort street facade,
and may be said TO belong thereto, that
with the end of the central wing facing
New High street, preserting as it does. a
semi,cirGular outline with an apparent
grsdual vertical retreat in its heteroge-
neous mss to the base of the tower, it
at once fstrikes the eyes as partAand
portion of the tower formation. The
New High street front below the main
roof is broken by circular nave, and
with its rows of large windows the ap.
pearanee is at once solid and at the same
time attractive to the eye. The line on
the opposite side is broken by sharper
angles, but is hardly less attractive. 1t
is safe to predict that when flushed the
coast will contain no court house OF q
| itOic SIaItlui huN iNh hIceihS habNi Z tLdh
will Los Angeles.
| THE INSIDE,
The drawings for the interior demou-
strate the utility Of the building. Gov.
ering, as the building will, large area
of ground, the offices designed for each
particular official are rooiay, we'll ven
tilated and well lighted, The corridors
are spacious and the ceilings lofty, and
scarcely detail has been omitted
which would add to ips perfectness for
the official home of the county officers.
The basement plan contains the follow
ing rooms for officers: On the New
High street side, commencing with the
corner of Temple street, a store room
for the County Clerk, 24x5S feet; Sur.
veyor's office, 24x25 feet; store room
l4x26 feet; circular PORTER opening
/ - IT. a.-.D r.